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CNN's Breaking News Coverage on the Los Angeles Anti- Immigration Protests. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired June 10, 2025 - 03:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[03:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

UNKNOWN (voice-over): This is CNN Breaking News.

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us here in the United States and all around the world. I'm Rosemary Church.

Right now it is midnight in Los Angeles where demonstrators have been facing off against authorities for a fourth straight night. The situation has grown much calmer as it gets later, but earlier it got heated near the federal building in downtown L.A. Police in riot gear fired flash bangs and rubber bullets to disperse crowds and some protesters threw objects at police, including what appeared to be fireworks.

National Guard troops deployed by President Trump were also on hand with riot shields. Demonstrators are angry over the military deployments and by the Trump administration's escalating crackdown on undocumented immigrants. Local and state authorities have slammed the federal government's actions.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHIEF JIM MCDONNELL, LOS ANGELES POLICE DEPARTMENT: The introduction of federal military personnel without direct coordination creates logistical challenges and risks confusion during critical incidents. Los Angeles Police Department alongside our mutual aid partners have decades of experience managing large-scale public demonstrations and we remain confident in our ability to be able to do so professionally and effectively.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: And the L.A. mayor said her city is being used as an experiment and test case for taking power away from local authorities.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR KAREN BASS (D), LOS ANGELES: I can't emphasize enough the level of fear and terror that is in Angelenos right now, not knowing if tomorrow or tonight it might be where they live, it might be their workplace, should you send your kids to school, should you go to work, and you remember this from several years ago, the same type of fear that was going around.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: It's unclear how many protesters were detained on Monday, but police were seen leading some onto buses with their hands zip-tied. CNN's Kyung Lah is in Los Angeles with more on the protests.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KYUNG LAH, CNN SR. INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Strong police presence near the federal building.

All of downtown has now been declared an unlawful assembly area. After hundreds of protesters took to the streets in this part of the city, clashing with local law enforcement and the National Guard, the protests sparked by local immigration raids like this one unfolding across Los Angeles.

Witnesses too afraid to speak on camera watched and filmed as Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested street vendors at gunpoint outside the L.A. Coliseum, the site of the Olympic Games that will be held in three years.

Some protesters violently pushing back against these raids on Sunday, burning cars, defacing buildings. National Guard troops fired back, blasting tear gas and pepper spray.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass blaming the unrest squarely on the Trump administration.

BASS: If immigration raids have not happened here, we would have the disorder that went on last night.

LAH (voice-over): And saying, the unrest escalated after hundreds of California National Guard troops arrived on scene Sunday, deployed by President Donald Trump overriding city and state leaders.

California Governor Gavin Newsom saying in a post the president flamed the fires and illegally acted the National Guard. And California's Attorney General added the state plans to file a lawsuit over the order to send in the troops.

ROB BONTA, CALIFORNIA ATTORNEY GENERAL: They did so without authorization from Governor Newsom and against the wishes of local law enforcement who were on the ground.

LAH (voice-over): It's the first federal deployment of the guard without a Governor's request since the 1965 civil rights protests.

BASS: It felt like fuel for a fire that was unnecessary. It was 100 people. 27 people were arrested. There wasn't a reason for this, that is the concern.

LAH (voice-over): Trump posting that he made a great decision sending in the guards saying otherwise Los Angeles would be completely obliterated.

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: The people that are causing the problem are professional agitators, they're insurrectionists.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: President Trump's border czar, Tom Homan, spoke with CNN earlier about the 700 marines being deployed to Los Angeles. CNN's Kaitlan Collins asked him if the hundreds of additional marines are necessary. Here's his response.

[03:05:08]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOM HOMAN, U.S. BORDER CZAR: Yes, it all depends on the activities protesters. I mean they make the decisions, you know, and I keep hearing media reports that they're rioting because President Trump sent National Guard here. It's just ridiculous.

They make the decision to burn the vehicle. They make the decision to throw a weapon at a law enforcement officer. They make the decision on assaulting officers.

This is their decision. President Trump doesn't make them burn a vehicle or assault an assaulting officer. President Trump is leaning forward, give us resources to be here and be ready to take on what's next.

We don't know what's going to happen tonight. It seems like at night the crawls get bigger, the violence peaks. So we want to be ahead of the game.

We want to be well prepared with the military here to protect government and protect the officers' lives.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: California's Attorney General Rob Bonta also spoke with CNN earlier. This is what he said about the federal deployments in his state.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BONTA: The authority upon which President Trump relies and Pete Hegseth relies for calling in the National Guard does not allow them to call in the National Guard. They are trying to exercise authority they do not have. In order for them to call in the National Guard there needs to be a rebellion.

There's not. There needs to be an invasion. There's not.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Well Steve Moore is a retired FBI supervisory special agent and CNN law enforcement contributor and he's been watching the events in Los Angeles. So Steve, good to have you with us. What's your assessment of what's happening on the streets of L.A. right now compared to 24 hours ago when you and I spoke? And where do you see all this going given it does appear to have calmed down somewhat?

STEVE MOORE, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CONTRIBUTOR AND RETIRED FBI SUPERVISORY SPECIAL AGENT: Right. And Rosemary, the reason it has calmed down is because there are enough policemen, enough officers, enough agents out on the streets to where the protest, or the not protest, the people who are throwing the rocks, who are using the fireworks, gasoline, those people are being pushed back and they realize that they cannot continue on this.

I don't think anybody would doubt the fact that if the police all left at this point, the mobs would be back destroying buildings. So I think it's a combination of the hour, the fact that the real protesters are probably not there.

Now it's the professional, paid protesters and others who are just in it for the fun. And so that and the police presence has calmed it down.

CHURCH: Yes, Steve, the federalization of the National Guard though on the streets of L.A. certainly changed the dynamic, didn't it, of these protests. They went from being these small protests once the National Guard got out there. Then there were more protesters who joined the fray.

And now we hear that President Trump is deploying an additional 2000 National Guards and activating 700 U.S. Marines. What's your response to those decisions?

MOORE: I've heard this come out a lot, that they're here to make the streets safe and all this kind of stuff. They're really not out there interacting with the crowds. The crowds may want to interact with them, but they are actually on federal property.

They're not out in the L.A. streets. They are protecting federal buildings. However, as innocuous as that is, there is certainly an amount of inflammation that that's going to cause.

There is no secret here that what this is, is kind of a proxy battleground between the administration and the governor. People who would side against the administration are looking to this as a way to make their point.

CHURCH: Steve, as you've been talking to us, we are looking at these live pictures where there has been a blaze set there in the middle of downtown L.A. We're keeping a very close eye on that, of course, that's an aerial shot there.

And as you and I have discussed before, the nonviolent protesters that we see in the daylight hours, they're very different to those who come out at night, you did touch on this. Who are these nighttime protesters and what is their goal compared to those who choose the nonviolent method? MOORE: Well, as we've discussed, Rosemary, we value you. And I believe

the FBI values the right to peacefully protest and you want to protect that right. But what is happening is the protesters are being hijacked and it's by kind of a ragtag group.

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I mean, there are people, I've been told that there are people who are live streaming the violence as they burn cars, things like that. Gang members from L.A. who are looking for opportunities. You're having Antifa and groups like that, anarchists, who just look at this as an opportunity to create chaos because that's their stock in trade.

And then there are others who are actually being paid to be there by organizations that are hard to trace, but they're out there. You can see the ads around. And so it is a mixed group of people you wouldn't want to spend time with.

CHURCH: Right. And of course, as you've been talking, we continue to watch these live pictures of that blaze in the middle of the street there. It appears that some of those protesters perhaps are throwing fireworks into that blaze. I'm not sure that I can see any law enforcement surrounding that area.

But I mean, there would be instances like this where they would just leave them to themselves, presumably. I mean, it's not it's not causing any big problems there. But I mean, how does law enforcement make that determination when you look at that? I'm not sure if you can see that live picture.

But if they look at a scene like that and there's a people and you know, when do they decide, OK, it's time to intervene because no one's getting hurt there.

MOORE: Right. There are discussions constantly between the on scene commanders, the people running the incident command centers, and there are decisions made, tactical decisions made to say, well, is this a pardon the analogy? Is this a hill we want to die on? Is this thing worth sending in a whole bunch of troops and possibly inciting more people?

See, the problem is, the more you react, sometimes the more they react. So you'd like to have this stuff die down. And there sometimes there is wisdom in letting something like that go until the crowd thins out a little bit.

The other thing is we're finding that the FBI is quickly identifying these people, regardless of the masks. The FBI has technology that the protests are not protesters that the markets out there really don't understand.

And so what the police will frequently do is just video these people and watch where they go and what other cameras in the area will capture them as they walk. Eventually, they're going to take off that mask. CHURCH: Right. And Steve, as we continue to watch these pictures, as

we continue to report that things are calming down for the most part, certainly compared to 24 hours ago, what are you watching for in these overnight hours? And what do you think it will take to completely de- escalate these increasing tensions?

MOORE: The problem here is there with de-escalating this. First of all, I should say I'm surprised that it is calming down this early in the evening. And I'm very gratified to see that, and I think it has to do a lot with the aggressive enforcement by all law enforcement out there, including L.A., especially LAPD.

But I think the problem we have is that there is an overriding political goal. This is kind of a proxy battleground between the administration and the governor.

And, you know, L.A. declared itself to be a sanctuary city. And that was like putting a target on their back. And I don't think anybody's ready to back down on this.

And I suspect, in fact, that the reason that the National Guard are here -- are coming is not really for this incident, but to protect ICE as they continue their sweeps. So this is certainly not over. This is just the first inning of a long game.

CHURCH: All right, Steve Moore, joining us live from Los Angeles. Many thanks for your analysis, always appreciated.

And Los Angeles isn't the only American city where protests are taking place. Crowds gathered in Dallas, Texas, to support those targeted by immigration raids and arrests.

And marchers in the Texas capital, Austin, carried anti-racism signs and shouted slogans in solidarity, such as, whose streets? Our streets.

In Manhattan, police made arrests when protesters blocked New York City streets. Demonstrators carried signs calling for the rejection of fascism. They were arrested for violating traffic laws.

[03:15:01]

And we will have more breaking news coverage of the L.A. protests after a quick break. Coming up, the latest on what the Trump administration's next move in California could be.

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CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. You are watching CNN's breaking news coverage of a fourth night of protests against immigration raids in Los Angeles.

In the last few hours, CNN saw police boxing in at one site and arresting people. It follows a day of tension on the streets, objects thrown at law enforcement and flashbangs set off in front of protesters. And away from the streets, an escalation in the battle between President Trump and local officials in California.

[03:20:06]

The President is deploying 2000 more National Guard troops and 700 U.S. Marines to Los Angeles. That's despite the state of California filing a lawsuit against the Trump administration, asking a judge to declare the deployments unconstitutional.

As Los Angeles braces for more protests today, California continues to push back against the federal government's involvement. CNN's Kristen Holmes has details on how the White House is responding.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SR. WHITE HOU.S.E CORRESPONDENT: The battle between the state of California and the federal government is still continuing today. I am told that right now, Donald Trump, the administration, is waiting to see what's going to happen next in California.

Of course, we've seen this increase in violence and the protests as the nights have gone on. And right now, they're in waiting and see mode. What they've done so far is gone around Newsom to call on the federal -- the National Guard.

They've also brought in 700 Marines to the state of California. So the big question, of course, is are they going to go a step further? Is it possible that Donald Trump invokes the Insurrection Act? And right now, it doesn't seem to be clear because they are leaving that option on the table. But again, they are waiting it out to see what exactly happens.

They don't necessarily want to go too far. They are looking for other options. Now, there are some in Donald Trump's circle who want to take a more aggressive approach, but that is not everybody.

So while we're seeing this, the actual levers of the federal government being pulled, on the other side, you're seeing a number of insults being flung at Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom by Donald Trump. At one point, he said he was a nice guy, but grossly incompetent. Then he said that his border czar, Tom Homan, should arrest Gavin Newsom.

And when asked later what crimes Newsom had committed, he said that his biggest crime was probably running for governor. So that's clearly a whole personal level here. This isn't an actual crime when you talk about running for governor.

So where exactly this goes next, that's what we're waiting to find out. And it seems as though, for right now, the administration is doing the same.

Kristen Holmes, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE) CHURCH: Sarah Mehta is the Deputy Director of Government Affairs at the ACLU. She joins me now from Washington. I appreciate you being with us.

SARAH MEHTA, DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF POLICY AND GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS, ACLU: Thanks for having me.

CHURCH: So what is your reading of what's happening on the streets of L.A. right now after the ICE raids over the weekend? And of course, the federalization of California's National Guard by President Trump against the wishes of Governor Newsom.

MEHTA: Yes, I think what we're seeing is a really alarming situation. Over the last few days in L.A. and certainly over the last few weeks around the United States, we've seen immigration authorities make ever more aggressive arrests, taking away longtime residents, zip tying children, even deporting families with young U.S. citizen children.

And over the last few days, we saw people in Los Angeles really bravely standing up for their community members saying this isn't what we want, this isn't who we are. And in response to that, we've seen the federal government really escalate the situation, manufacture quite a dangerous scenario by bringing in troops into the streets, using tear gas against protesters, including congressional staff in certain instances. And rather than trying to de-escalate the situation at this moment, now bringing in more and more troops.

CHURCH: So Sarah, let's go back to what was happening on the weekend with those ICE raids at various workplaces across L.A. The trigger for all that we're now seeing, of course, happened on the streets of L.A. So what can you tell us, what more can you tell us about those raids and how different they were to others?

MEHTA: Yes, what we heard starting on Friday was that ICE was taking ever more aggressive steps to go after immigrants, including longtime residents in the United States, going to three different workplaces, two Home Depots, also a local donut store.

And at one point, while people started to gather to protect their communities, they even arrested the U.S. citizen and prominent labor activist David Huerta, who was forcibly released today. But first he was pushed to the ground, he was arrested very violently, had to go to the hospital, and then was detained for allegedly, I suppose, interfering with their operations.

And it was watching this escalation of violence in these communities, these really aggressive tactics against workers, against people that have been contributing to our community, many of whom were longtime residents, that really outraged people in Los Angeles.

Now, unfortunately, this is not an isolated incident. We've seen arrests like this around the country. Just in the last couple of weeks, we've seen ICE go after people who were checking in for their appointments, who are going to their asylum hearings, and again, detaining them and their whole families. But what happened over this past weekend, and certainly on Friday,

wasn't just that there were these very violent raids, but also that people were then put into a detention facility that had really horrendous conditions. People were detained for 12 to 24 hours with no water, with no lights on, with no food, including young children.

[03:25:05]

CHURCH: And then of course, so the protests grew once the National Guard was deployed. And now we learn that President Trump has activated 700 Marines who are normally, I mean, they're normally used in a war zone, aren't they? So what is your reaction to that specific move?

MEHTA: Yes, this is completely inappropriate and really alarming. I mean, Marines and the National Guard are not trained for civilian law enforcement. They are, as you mentioned, they are trained for warfare.

Their National Guard are supposed to be helping us in times of natural disasters, like when L.A. has wildfires. People do not sign up for these missions in order to go hunting for immigrants and arresting their neighbors for protesting.

Again, this is a situation where I think the President and the administration are trying to manufacture a crisis to justify the continued militarization of our streets, but at the cost of our civil rights, at the cost of community safety, at the cost really of the welfare even of these troops who are now being put in a legal and ethical quandary about what to do when they're being asked to turn against their own neighbors.

CHURCH: And as we watch what's happening on the streets of Los Angeles, what is your greatest concern in the hours and days ahead?

MEHTA: I think, obviously, when you have people that are trained for warfare that are not trained for civilian crowd control, when you have people with military weapons on the streets, when you have people in a very emotional and inflamed situation, there is certainly a danger that there could be harm to somebody accidentally in any type of scenario on the ground.

This would be a moment where the administration should be de- escalating the situation, not adding more fuel to the fire.

And of course, one of our greatest concerns is that L.A. is not just a one-off. This is the president setting the stage for future types of missions like this, where they are using the military against our communities. Again, this isn't happening in a vacuum.

We've already seen the Department of Homeland Security request more and more resources from the military to go after immigrants all over our country, potentially using military bases, using troops to go and arrest and detain people. So unfortunately, this may only be the first stage of what the army is being asked to do by this President.

CHURCH: Sarah Mehta, we appreciate you joining us. Many thanks. MEHTA: Thank you.

CHURCH: Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has responded to the shocking video of an Australian journalist being shot with a rubber bullet as she covered the L.A. protests. And you can see her here where Lauren Tomasi was hit, despite being clearly identified as a reporter.

The Prime Minister called the footage horrific and says he has raised the issue with the Trump administration. He said, quote, "We don't find it acceptable that it occurred, and we think that the role of the media is particularly important." Albanese said Tomasi told him she was sore, but otherwise unharmed.

Well, Los Angeles police were seen shooting rubber bullets into the protest crowd on Monday night, and CNN's Erin Burnett was there to report on it live. Stay with us for that.

And a noted Hispanic journalist speaks out on the conflict between protesters and law enforcement in California, why she says these demonstrations are personal.

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[03:30:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: Welcome back to "CNN Newsroom." I'm Rosemary Church. I want to check today's top stories for you.

Some crew members from the aid ship that was on its way to Gaza are set to depart Israel today, according to Israel's foreign ministry. The ship was intercepted by Israel on Monday and the crew detained. Sweden's Greta Thunberg and other prominent activists were on the ship.

Russia and Ukraine have announced a new prisoner swap is underway. The two countries agreed on the exchange during peace talks in Turkey last week. Ukraine's president says it involves the release of detainees under the age of 25 and the seriously wounded.

And in Los Angeles, a fourth night of angry confrontations between protesters and law enforcement is winding down. Police have filled up buses with detained demonstrators whose hands have been zip-tied behind their backs. The L.A. Mayor says the federal government's intervention is the cause of the chaos.

Well California officials are asking a judge to declare the President's deployment of the National Guard unconstitutional. The state is suing the President, the U.S. Secretary of Defense and the Department of Defense over the matter. California's attorney general says it's his job to pursue legal action.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BONTA: It is the President and the Trump administration that is consistently and frequently, blatantly and brazenly violating the law, not Governor Newsom.

[03:35:01]

Our response, California -- Democratic attorneys general, who want to fight for rights and freedoms, the rule of law and democracy, is to take him to court and haul him into court and hold him accountable. (END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Throughout the protests, we have seen LAPD officers moving crowds to areas they can better control, using rubber bullets and other non-lethal tactics. Earlier, CNN's Erin Burnett was caught up in the line of fire.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ERIN BURNETT, CNN ANCHOR: Oh, wow. Okay, all right.

Abby, so you can see here. Oh, you see this? All right. Face off here.

A lot of rubber bullets are going off. You can see it just was a -- hold on. We're behind.

Okay, we're just trying to move. These empty canisters, obviously, are from some of the flashbangs. You can see -- I don't know if you can see behind there.

Orlando, can you see the police all over that one person? Whether that's an arrest. Abby, I don't know if you can see that. Every once in a while, we have to literally sprint here.

Okay. All right.

Yes. And you see this, Abby? Okay, these are the rubber bullets. I'm holding one, okay, that was just fired over where we were.

They're firing these at people, okay, the bright blue tops.

Sorry, I'm just trying to do this and keep the microphone up before it gets really loud and they start firing again. These are what people in the crowd have been firing at the ground.

Those cause some of the explosions. They're like a foam thing. You can smell the explosive on it.

That causes the police to immediately respond, and then they charge. And we've seen a lot of people fall. We actually -- our shot was down for a couple minutes here because we were running a little bit out of breath.

Just because you have to get away from them. They just start running, they run, and then they start firing a lot of these.

(END VIDEO CLIP) CHURCH: Earlier, I spoke with CNN military analyst and retired Air Force Colonel Cedric Leighton, and I asked him about the activation of 700 Marines in Los Angeles.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: The interesting aspect for the Marines is that that's about a battalion size of Marines, so that is an independent warfighting unit, and it is how the Marines deploy. They deploy also as part of the Marine Air Ground Task Force, but battalions are kind of that warfighting element. They're also the unit of command that is best suited to handle tactical operations.

So this is something that hasn't been done domestically since 1992. The Marines were deployed as part of the military response to the L.A. riots in the wake of the Rodney King case where the officers, police officers, were acquitted, and there were riots after the acquittals. The Marines deployed as part of the federal response to that, but that was done at the request of the Governor of California at the time.

This, as you mentioned, is quite different because the Governor did not approve the federalization of even portions of the California National Guard, and in essence, President Trump bypassed the normal rules when it comes to federalizing elements of what is actually a state militia.

CHURCH: And Colonel, does the city of Los Angeles need these Marines and National Guard troops, or is this simply inflaming the situation?

LEIGHTON: Well, at the moment it appears as if it's inflaming the situation. Now, there are times when military personnel can serve to augment law enforcement when they in essence have done, the law enforcement people have done, the hard part of clearing the streets, of suppressing protests, and the fire department has extinguished fires, things like that.

The military can come in and kind of give the law enforcement and fire agencies a break, and they basically did some of that in 1992. But in this particular situation, at this particular moment in time, it does not appear as if this is something that will pacify the population in Los Angeles, and it will in fact inflame passions, because it's seen as part of the same federal government that does the immigration enforcement, which is of course what precipitated this whole situation in Los Angeles.

CHURCH: And Colonel, our reporters on the ground have basically told our viewers that the non-violent protesters during the day are very different to those more violent protesters who come out at night. That generally is the story, isn't it, when you come to covering protests like this. And it's during the overnight hours that everyone worries about what might happen.

What is the best approach from the perspective of law enforcement in those nighttime situations, do you think?

LEIGHTON: Yes, you're right, Rosemary. Those nighttime situations do tax law enforcement quite a bit.

[03:40:03]

And this is where law enforcement has to be very quick, I think, to respond to disturbances. Like last night we saw the burning of some of these Waymo vehicles, self-driving vehicles in Los Angeles. And while it may be occurring in a very small area and affecting very few automobiles in this case, it is something that does draw a sensational response.

And that is something that, in essence, they need to stop that from happening. And so what they need to do is make sure that they go after the agitators, they identify them.

And that, in essence, is police work on the intelligence side of law enforcement. And I'm sure they're doing quite a bit of that. They have to be very quick about it, and they have to be able to identify those types of agitators and basically eliminate them from the field of action.

CHURCH: Colonel Cedric Leighton, we appreciate you and your analysis. Many thanks for joining us.

LEIGHTON: You bet, Rosemary, any time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: And earlier my colleague Abby Phillip spoke with journalist Maria Elena Salinas, a former anchor for Univision News and one of the most well-recognized Hispanic journalists in America. Salinas says the conflict between President Trump and California's governor is distracting from the original reason for protests, the way immigration officials are carrying out their job. Here's part of their conversation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARIA ELENA SALINAS, JOURNALIST AND FORMER UNIVISION NEWS ANCHOR: I think not only the protests, but also the fight between President Trump and Governor Newsom is sort of like diverting attention from the real issue at heart here, which is the abuse of the immigration authorities and the way that they're conducting these raids and the way that they're arresting people and the inhumanity and the illegality in which they're doing it.

Going into workplaces without warrants, going into homes without warrants, breaking people's windows in their cars, to drag them out, going to courthouses to arrest people who are going precisely because they have an appointment with a judge in order to continue their process to legalize their status.

And I think what's different this time is that this is Los Angeles. We've seen protests all over the country. You're seeing some right now in Texas, we've seen them in New York and New Jersey and Massachusetts and Pennsylvania, but not L.A. Why L.A.? What they want is ICE out of our town. L.A. is a city. I'm from L.A, I was born in L.A. That's where my roots

are, that's where I started my career.

It is almost 50 percent Hispanic. Remember that California was part of Mexico. All of the Southwest is Mexico, so the roots are really deep in that region.

And what they're saying is, no, not in our community, because when they're coming in, even though there's second, third, fourth, fifth generation Latinos that live there and Mexican-Americans that live there, some of them might be their family members. The people that they're going after, it's personal for them because they're going after their cousin and their uncle and their parents.

And how does that make us safe?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Crew members of the Gaza aid ship detained by Israel could be on their way home soon. Details of the incident after a short break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[03:45:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone.

Trade talks between the United States and China are set to resume in London today. Negotiators will try to preserve a fragile 90-day truce after both nations rolled back tariffs last month.

CNN's Clare Sebastian is following developments for us in London. She joins us now live. Good morning to you, Claire. So what are we expecting in the coming hours?

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, good morning, Rosemary.

We're just getting set for a second day of talks. It's set to get underway behind me at Lancaster House in London. We're just about a stone's throw from Buckingham Palace.

We heard that the Monday talks went pretty well. Things were fruitful, according to the U.S. side, but no one has revealed any details as of yet. I think a win for this round of negotiations would be to de- escalate the tensions that have flared since the two sides reached that deal in Geneva about a month ago to bring down the tariff levels.

But there is another set of issues on the table, and that concerns export restrictions. Both sides are looking for something along those lines. For the U.S., the key issue is to unlock large quantities.

It wants imports of Chinese rare earths. China has a stranglehold over these critical minerals, which are extremely expensive to extract. And the U.S. has been accusing China of slow-balling an approvals

process to get exports out the door. And on the flip side, China wants the U.S. to lift export controls on some of its own high-tech products, including microchips.

Now we do understand that both sides may be ready for compromise on that. We know from three sources in the U.S. that Donald Trump has authorized his negotiating team, who will be getting to work here this morning, to ease up on some of those export controls. But if you listen to Kevin Hassett, the White House economic adviser, speaking to CNBC over the weekend, they are going to stop short of exporting some of the most high-tech products because of lingering, and of course, national security concerns.

[03:50:02]

So there are limitations here. I think this whole issue gets to the heart of the mutual reliance of these two countries, even as they compete for tech supremacy. But I think it's also worth bearing in mind that we are just talking about export restrictions today, there's no talk of tariffs.

And the White House chief economic adviser, Kevin Hassett, has said that they will get this out of the way, this whole rare-earths deal, which he sees as a major issue, and then move on, he says, to smaller issues. So a very long-running process, very complicated.

And as you know, from the last time round, Trump 1.0, they started the trade war with China at the beginning of 2018, and it took until the beginning of 2020 to reach that phase one deal. So extremely complex. But so far, we think the mood is positive.

CHURCH: All right. Well, keep a close eye. Clare Sebastian brings that live report from London, many thanks.

Ukraine says at least one person is dead following overnight Russian drone attacks on Kyiv and the southern port city of Odessa. Air raid sirens blasted for hours in the Ukrainian capital, according to a CNN producer on the ground. The attacks damaged or destroyed a number of civilian targets across both cities, including a maternity ward in Odessa.

The barrage came on the heels of Russia's biggest drone strike yet on Ukraine. On Monday, Moscow fired nearly 500 UAVs in an overnight aerial assault, breaking its single-day record for the second consecutive weekend.

Israeli forces intercepted the aid ship Madleen as it sailed toward Gaza in an attempt to break Israel's blockade and deliver supplies there. Israel's foreign ministry says those aboard the ship, including activist Greta Thunberg, were detained and underwent medical examinations. Now some crew members are set to leave Israel.

CNN's Paula Hancocks joins us live from Abu Dhabi. So, Paula, how did all of this play out and what happens now? PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Rosemary, as for what happens

now, we are already seeing some of those activists being deported from Israel. We've seen Greta Thunberg, for example, sitting on the plane heading back to Sweden via France, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Israel.

So this all took a turn in the early hours of Monday morning. This is a vessel that activists had put humanitarian aid on board and had set sail about a week earlier. But in the early hours of Monday morning, the Israeli military intercepted the ship and then took it to the Israeli port of Ashdod.

Now, we're hearing from the activists that this was considered unlawfully boarded. This is from the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, who organizes these vessels, and also said that it came under assault under international waters, something that Amnesty International has backed up as well, saying that this was an illegal move by Israel.

Israel, though, says that it has acted in accordance with international law, referring back to a 2010 U.N. report for justifying the fact that it was able to instill and protect this blockade that it has had for many years on Gaza.

So what we're seeing at this point is that those activists were taken to Ashdod. We know that they underwent medical examinations, according to Israeli authorities.

The Defense Minister, Israel Katz, says that they were then taken into a room and they were shown a documentary on the October 7th Hamas attacks against Israel and he claims that they did not continue watching, and he accuses them of closing their eyes to the truth.

Now, what we have been hearing from these activists themselves is that they were trying to get what was on board, baby formula, food, medical supplies, to more than two million people in Gaza who desperately need it.

Now, Israel says they've confiscated that aid, and they say there are ways of getting aid into Gaza at this point. But this has also come under great attack from the U.N., from other humanitarian aid groups on the ground, saying that for weeks and months now there has not been enough that has been getting in. We've heard from OCHA, one of the U.N. departments, that people in Gaza are starving.

The U.N. and others are pointing to a number of things. They're pointing to restrictions placed on them by the Israeli military on certain aid routes, so they're unable to get their aid to those who desperately need it. The fact that there is still no ceasefire and that airstrikes are still continuing, also a lack of security, and the continual displacement of tens of thousands.

[03:54:56]

So, at the same time as these activists are being deported from Gaza, we're also hearing the cries, the warnings, the pushing from the U.N., from others, for all border crossings into Gaza to be opened up, so that far more humanitarian aid can get in.

We have seen GHF, this is the U.S.-Israeli-backed aid distribution sites in Gaza, they have been dogged by security issues. In fact, there have been a number of Palestinians, dozens in the past week, who have been killed while they've been on their way to try and access these sites. Rosemary?

CHURCH: Paula Hancocks in Abu Dhabi, many thanks for that live report. I appreciate it.

And thank you for your company. I'm Rosemary Church. My colleague Polo Sandoval picks up our coverage after a short break, do stay with us.

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